Exhaustion
by Paralax
Summary: Post-Episode 4. For some, the idea of losing their bending abilities can be too much to bear. K for fighting and spicy bear meat.
1. Chapter 1

Mako woke up, shielding his eyes from the harsh light of dawn. His brother was sitting on a trunk, looking out towards the bay.

"Bolin?"

Bolin turned to him. His eyes were red and had rings under them. "Yeah?"

"...Did you sleep last night?"

Bolin shrugged. "More than I have been, yeah. Woke up around four, went down to train, grabbed some breakfast at that little stand by the fountain, and here I am."

"But you stayed up for the duel, didn't you."

"Of course," said Bolin defensively, "She's our teammate. And our friend."

"Yeah, I guess she is."

"You guess? Man, she saved my butt from Amon. I'd consider that grounds for friendship. And as the brother of the person whose butt was saved, and the person who agreed to fill in for the team, you should too."

"Geez, sorry."

Bolin grunted. "What are you watching?" asked Mako.

"Korra."

"That's kinda creepy."

"No, I meant- I mean look." He pointed towards Air Temple island. Mako rolled out of bed, adjusted his red pajamas, and walked over to the window.

Following Bolin's finger, Mako saw that he was pointed at a section of the island. A fireball erupted into the air. Then the tide near the island receded a good couple meters. A chunk of the island the size of a Satomobile shot off the coast, flew up into the air, then rocketed back down and reinserted itself. And so on.

"Is that her?"

"No, it's some other Avatar." Bolin rolled his eyes. "Of course it is."

"Did she confront Amon?"

Bolin shrugged. "I don't know. Our radio's busted. But it looks as if - assuming they did meet - Amon didn't un-bend her."

"Un-bend?"

"Yeah, it's a word I made up to describe his ability. Sounds cool, right?"

"Sure. Anyway she seems fine," said Mako as another, larger fireball flew into the air. "Probably just some Avatar training stuff. Get ready for practice. We'll see if she shows up again."

"Okay. See you down there in an hour."


	2. Chapter 2

Bolin lifted a stack of earth coins from storage and placed them in the center of the gym. Methodically, he tossed all of them into the net facing him. He hoped Korra was okay. An idea struck him.

He placed the discs - there were ten of them - in a pyramid. Then, being careful, he flipped the pyramid over, one disc at a time. It took about a minute, since the finesse wasn't something he was used to. He flipped it back. And again. After a while, he could do it in a couple of seconds. He smiled at himself, then started fooling around with the disks.

"Fight me,"

Bolin turned around. Korra was standing in the entrance to the gym. Her clothes were torn and singed, her hair was undone, and she was wet and panting. She seemed to realize this at the same time he did, and with a fluid motion pulled the water out of her clothes and made it into two gobs on her hands. "Fight me," she said again.

It was obvious to Bolin that she hadn't slept all night. Her muscles were taut - a sign that she had indeed been bending though the night. "Hey Korra. You don't look so good-"

She hurled one of the gobs of water at him. Reflexively, he brought one of the discs to his chest, blocking the attack. "Geez, what was that for?"

Korra didn't say anything. Instead, she dropped the water in her other hand and brought about twin daggers made of fire. They were thin and sharp at the tips, and they glowed a bright orange.

"No," he said, bringing another disc to his chest. "Stop. What's wrong? What happened at the memorial?"

She threw the daggers at him. Bolin deflected them with two of the disks, and threw a third at Korra. The disk hit the far wall of the gym. Korra wasn't there.

Bolin heard something hit the ground. He spun around, but Korra's hands were already raised. Twin pillars of earth shot up from the ground, snagging Bolin's hands and pulling him to his knees. Bolin tried to bend the rocks away, but they heated up, and Bolin yelled out in pain.

"Isn't bending a beautiful thing?" Korra said. She pulled out a fire whip and cracked it in the air a couple times, the sizzling echoing throughout the gym. "Isn't it?" she asked again.

Bolin shrugged. "I guess. What does that have to do with whatever's the matter with you?"

"What's the matter with me? I've never been better." Bolin could tell by the way her muscles were shaking that that wasn't quite true.

She looked up, behind Bolin. He couldn't turn his head to see what she was looking at.

"What the hell are you doing?" said a voice behind him.

"Mako!" called Bolin. "Korra's here for practice," he said, smiling slightly.

"You," whispered Korra. She pulled out a small orb of fire, hanging above her palm. Bolin felt her grip on the pillars release, and he removed himself for his prison, backing away towards his brother and stretching his back.

"What were you doing to Bolin?" asked Mako. His voice was calm, but audibly restrained. Bolin could see his fists were tight.

"I was showing him how grateful he should be that he can still bend. You know, after we saved his life." She hung on the 'we'. Bolin watched Mako's face. His expression was like a rock, only rocks couldn't show anger.

"You were hurting him."

"So?" She took a defensive stance. "Fight me," she said, "I want to bend some more."

"No," he said, "I'm getting Tenzin."

Mako started to walk out the door, but Korra Earthbent it shut, making a door pull up from the ground. "Hey," he said, "Let me out!" He turned towards his brother. "Get rid of the door."

Bolin nodded and struck a stance. The door started to go down, but Korra held the door up. Bolin could feel her weakening.

With a loud SLAM, the door finally shattered under the stress. Bolin turned around and saw Korra, her arms trembling. "Fine," she said, "Bolin can go. But I want to fight you."

Mako's eyes narrowed. He started to say 'no' again, but Bolin stopped him. "Fine," Bolin said, "I'll go." He pulled Mako in close. "She's almost gone. Just hold out. I'll be right back."

Bolin ran out of the room, leaving the two of them. Korra smiled. "I guess it's just you and me, Asami's boy."

She charged at him, pulling from her hands globs of fire. They raced from her and towards Mako, who rolled away and towards the center of the gym. "Asami? Is that was this is about?"

"Pssh, like I'm that shallow." More fireballs. They were getting warmer, Mako observed, somehow she was gaining more power despite bending for hours straight. She's crazy powerful, he thought.

They dueled for a few minutes. Mako was not used to fighting her style - she was more traditional, but with a personal, aggressive flair that enjoyed being in the air quite often. Still, he had the advantage of being fresh and not exhausted, like she clearly was. He played defensive, knowing that if he got too aggressive she might slam him with a rock.

After a while, he realized something. She wasn't focusing on actually taking him out. Instead, she was being more... flashy? Like she was focusing on expending all of her energy at once. Like right now - she could have slammed his face in with that kick, but she spun away, exerting more energy and generating more fire as she stuck the landing. "What are you doing?" he finally asked, lowering his fists.

"Fighting you," she said, leaning against a wall and catching her breath.

"No, why?"

"Because I want to. What, you can't handle the heat?" she laughed at her own joke.

"Oh, I can handle it because you aren't fighting me. You're just fake-hitting me and trying to make as much fire as you can."

"No I'm not!" She stood up, glaring at him. "If I wanted to, I could take you out. But I don't want to. You're too handsome to have all that face go to waste," she winked playfully.

Mako raised an eyebrow. "Korra, what happened on Avatar Aang Island?"

She broke eye contact with him. "Nothing. I'm fine, see?" She lifted her fist, and three rocks flew into the air. Korra started juggling the rocks. "Never better."

"You sure?" he asked, taking a step towards her.

The rocks froze in midair. "Get away," she said, "Get away or I'll take you out."

"Uh-huh," Another step. He was now only a few meters from her. "I think you were up too late. You need some sleep. You look worn out."

"Worn out? Ha. I've been training to be the Avatar since I was a child."

"And you still are a child." Another step. "Korra, why are you so wound up?"

"I'm full of energy. I have to be. I'm the Avatar. Bending is what I do. It's why I'm important."

"Is it?" Two meters separated them. Mako could feel energy emanating from the rocks. She wasn't going to last much longer.

"Yes. Why else do I exist?"

"What about being the balance the world needs."

"Yeah, and bending's how I'm going to do that."

"By taking out anyone who stands in your way?"

"Yeah." Mako was now centimeters from her. He could feel her breath on his face.

"Prove it,"

With a yell, Korra dropped the rocks and pulled out the fire daggers. She spun the both of them around, kicking Mako against a wall. He felt his head hit it harder than he would have liked, and his vision stuttered. Korra held the fire daggers at his neck. "I could kill you right now," she whispered. "I have so much power over you." She shivered. "So much."

"Oh, you do, do you?"

She gritted her teeth. "Yep."

"No you don't." He kicked Korra in the stomach. She let out a *woof* and knelt down, then sprang back up, daggers brighter than ever. They sparred, Mako effortlessly deflecting blow after blow. He could see the daggers getting smaller and smaller, Korra breathing harder and harder, her moves becoming more and more sloppy. Mako was patient.

Bolin came back. He had with him the security guard - a particularly non-adept firebender - but stopped when they came into the room. "Uh," Mako heard Bolin say, "Never mind. I think we're good." He shoved the guard out of the room and closed the door behind him. Mako gave him a nod and winked his right eye. Bolin received the message. He pulled up one of the rocks Korra had made and hurled it at Korra. At the same time, Mako went on the aggressive, throwing a single, fire-covered punch at her face.

Korra attempted to block both at the same time. The rock collided with her hand, and the fire shield she pulled up to push it out of the way fizzled out. She did deflect Mako's punch, but as she did her other hand went out, too. The shock of the rock's impact was slight, but it was enough. She was thrown to the ground, where she lay groaning.

"There," Mako said, "Now can we please end this nonsense and get you home?"

"I can't bend," she whispered.

"What?" said Bolin, kneeling down.

"I can't bend," she said again. Mako saw a flicker of fire appear in her hand, then vanish. Her muscles were trembling, and she looked like she was having trouble breathing. "I'm so tired," she said. "I can't bend." Tears started flowing down her cheeks, and her cries were weak, little sobs. "I'm nothing," she said.

"No, you're not," said Bolin, holding your hand. "You were just through a lot. I think. Just go to sleep."

"No," she said, but her eyes were closing.

"Why not?" asked Mako.

"Because I can't bend in my sleep."

And she fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Korra's eyes slowly opened. She was sore all over, and her mind reminded her why. What the hell had she done? She could remember Amon - she shuddered at the encounter - then the conversation with Tenzin. Then the hours she spent all over the island, thinking and bending. Then it got more and more aggressive. Then she crossed the island for... some reason. Then nothing. Then now.

She tried to sit up. She couldn't - everything hurt too much to move more than a few inches, and her arms could barely support the blanket she was under. Even breathing felt like a chore. What had happened? Could she still bend?

Careful not to burn the sheets, she tried lighting a small flame in her right hand. She felt a small ball of warmth in her palm, but couldn't feel the tingle of flame. So yes, but barely. At least, not full strength for a while. Damn.

She sighed. Someone else in the room moved. "Korra?" said a voice.

"Bolin?" she said. Her voice worked normally, as did her neck, and she rotated over until she could see the rest of the apartment. Bolin was standing over some food. Her stomach moaned.

Bolin, wearing a wife-beater and a grin on his face, scooped some rice into his mouth before responding. "Hey, you're awake. Awesome. Do you need anything?"

"Food," she said. "Geez, I'm starving."

"No problem. Hang on a sec." Bolin finished what he was eating, then brought over a small bowl of rice and chopsticks. Korra pushed the blanket she was under off, then took the chopsticks. Her fingers couldn't comply to the dexterity commands, but she could hold them. Bolin handed her the bowl. She took it, but the sudden weight crippled her arms, and she dropped it like it weighed a thousand kilograms. Bolin caught the just before it hit the floor. "Whoa, you alright?" he asked.

Korra sighed. "I guess not. Put the bowl in my lap."

He did. Korra, after a couple tries, managed to grab a small bit of rice. She brought it up to her mouth, but when her hand was at her chest her arm started to hurt like crazy. It fell to her side, the chopsticks falling to the floor with a *plink*.

"Hmm," said Bolin, picking up the chopsticks and replacing them with a fresh pair. "It looks like you need some help."

"Bolin, I can do it," she said.

"Well it doesn't look like it. Don't worry. I won't stab you in the mouth or anything."

Korra rolled her eyes. "Fine." She was too hungry to argue otherwise.

Bolin picked up a bit of her rice. "Open up," he said jokingly.

Begrudgingly, she opened her mouth and processed the food. It was small, but it felt good. After a few mouthfuls, she sighed. "Stop," she said.

"Why?" asked Bolin, lowering the chopsticks.

"This feels dumb. I hate this."

"Well, there isn't anything you can do about it now. Tenzin is out doing something and he let us watch over you until he gets back. Which should be by tomorrow morning.

"How long was I out?"

"All day. You came to the gym at dawn, and it's sunset now."

"Wow. What was I doing? I remember crossing the bay, then... nothing."

Bolin broke eye contact. He set the bowl of rice on the table next to her, then walked out of her field of vision. "Mako should be back soon. He went to talk to Sato?"

"Who?"

"Our sponsor."

"We have a sponsor now?"

"Yep. We can get in the tournament and have more spending money than we used to."

"Bolin, that's wonderful."

"Yep."

"But you didn't answer my question. Did I just bend myself to exhaustion?" She wasn't aware that that was even possible.

"Bolin," she said again. Bolin grabbed the bowl and held some rice up to her. "Eat," he said, "You need it."

"What. Did. I. Do." she said forcefully. "Did I... Did I kill someone?"

"No," Bolin said tersely. "You didn't kill anyone."

"Then what-"

Korra noticed the marks on Bolin's wrists. "Bolin, did I do that?"

"What, this?" He showered her the marks - rock burn. "Yeah, you kinda did. But it's no biggie - I'm already almost back to normal, except for some sore wrists." He rubbed a wrist with his hand.

Korra caught burn marks in his palm. "Wait, I-I-" She stopped, unsure of what to do, how much she wanted to know. But the thought of hurting one of the few people in this city that actually cared about her... one of her few friends, a concept so foreign to her she hadn't even said anything about the subject to anyone. She felt a tear slide down her cheek. No. Not again. Tenzin was enough - she didn't need Bolin to see her so weak as well.

But she could barely use her arms. Could barely bend. Wasn't that weak enough? Wouldn't that be what someone who's a jerk to her friends deserves? And what about earlier today? Wasn't she weak then?

She felt Bolin's arms encircle him in a big hug. "I hurt you," she said into his shoulder, "And I hurt Mako, didn't I?"

"...Yeah, you kinda did. But he's fine. We both are. We guessed it had something to do with Amon, how crazy you were."

"'Crazy'?"

"Well, that's a bit of a harsh was to put it, but-" He trailed off, instead hugging her tighter. "I forgive you," he said, "And I'm sure my brother does, too."

"How can you say that? After what I did to you. What I probably did to Mako. Why am I so terrible at interacting with other people?"

"Because you were in a compound your whole life. You're a superb bender, Korra - that was some of the best bending I've seen in my life - but you're pretty bad at socializing." He chuckled a little.

Korra laughed, but the knot in her gut still pushed at her. "I'm not very good at being the Avatar," she said.

"Well, you're still young. Plenty of time to get all wise and stuff." He pulled back, smiling. "But for now, Avatar Korra needs some rice in her if she wants to move again."

Korra changed a small smile. "Fine. But some meat afterwards."

Bolin nodded. "As you wish, Avatar." He said, standing up and bowing gracefully.

"What are you two doing?" asked Mako from the entrance to the attic.

Bolin turned towards his brother. "Oh, hey Mako. Korra's awake. But she can't move. So we need to feed her and stuff so she doesn't starve."

"Is that so."

"Yep," she said with a sigh, "I'd stand up to greet you, but my legs would buckle." She wiggled her toes from under the sheet.

Mako didn't respond. Instead, he turned towards his brother. "Bolin, could I have a word with you?"

"Shouldn't be too hard," said Korra, "All you need to do is move out of my earshot. Could you give me some food before you go?"

Footsteps, then Bolin with a piece of something steaming and meat-like. "Here," he said, "Bear meat. Not sure if you've had it before, but it's Mako's favorite."

"Come on, Bolin. Stop playing doctor."

"Coming!" He put the meat in Korra's mouth, then rushed out of the room.

Korra chewed on it. Game-y. But good. Her eyes widened. And spicy! She hated spicy food - food that actively hurt the eater wasn't her idea of good food. She almost spit it out, but realized they might not be back for a while. She swallowed, and could feel the burning trace her esophagus.

She tried to move again, shifting so she was lying on her side, facing the window. She was in Bolin and Mako's 'apartment' at the top of the pro-bending building, and from here she could see one of the most beautiful vistas she had ever seen. It was dusk, and Republic City seemed to come alive. She could see the bay out of the corner of her eye, but she couldn't turn her neck any farther. But damn, this city never ceased to amaze her.

Korra heard Bolin shout "But you don't even know her side of the story!" from below the room. She turned her head to the sound. She could see the rest of their room - it was small, bare, but nice. She could see herself living in such a room - she didn't have many possessions while training, so she was used to few. But she liked it. Plus the couch she was sitting on was comfy.

Mako came into the room. "How are you doing?" he asked. He seemed fine - there were a couple scratches, but nothing major.

"Okay. I can feel my breathing now, so I guess that's a good thing."

Mako nodded. He sat down next to the table. Bolin came in and sat down on the other side of the table. "What happened last night?" Mako asked.

Korra recounted the events, leaving the fear part out of it - they didn't need to know - and made it up to crossing the bay at dawn. "So you were bending for six hours straight," Mako said, "That's impressive."

Korra tried to shrug. "Endurance is a quality I always want more of"

"Yeah, you show it," said Mako. "Or, you showed it in the gym."

"So what happened when I made landfall?" Korra asked, eager to finally find out.

Mako in turn told him what she had done. How she had tried to fight both of them and stopped only because her muscles gave out.

"Wow," she said, "That's- Wow. I'm sorry, I guess. Do I owe you guys anything?"

"The manager is liking the publicity from the Avatar being in the tournament, so he let this one slide."

There was silence for a moment. "I'm sorry," she said, "Amon's attack hit me kinda hard. I guess I was so afraid of having my bending taken away I just wanted to- make sure I had it."

"And you do," said Bolin, "Geez, you do..."

Korra tried to shrug again. "That's what being the Avatar is, right? Being good at bending so I can do my duty or whatever. And I'm sorry, again, for all of that. I should not have let myself be so out of control."

"I guess," Bolin said, "Do you want any more food?"

Korra nodded. Bolin started to feed her rice again. "So," Bolin said, "Mako tells me there was this one move you did when you were juggling huge rocks. Do you think you could teach me when you get better?"

Korra smiled. "Yes, I will. You want any tips or tricks, Mako?"

"Well, considering you did almost get us kicked out of the tournament and are sitting on my couch, yeah, you do owe me one." He started describing the fire daggers - hers were jagged while his was straight, and he wanted to find out how to make his jagged.

So they spent a while talking bending, then, as Bolin and Mako stretched her out so she wasn't too stiff in the morning, they talked about life in the city. Korra tried to stand up at one point in the night, but stumbled. Immediately both brothers caught her and steadied her, and at that moment she realized something:

She had friends.


End file.
